I’ve put together a planning workshop for you.
I show you, in-depth, how you can use the #Top3Priorities method to plan the whole of year – from the year-view level, right down to the day-to-day. This is the method I use in my own planning – and I show you some behind-the-scenes of exactly how I do it – using Trello and Cal to help me.
I hope this workshop gives you a powerful way to get clear on what you want to achieve in the coming year, and helps you get and stay focused and organised – breaking your priorities down into actionable tasks.
If you’re going to participate in the Handmade Business Bootcamp in January, make sure to do this workshop before that starts, as I’ll be referencing this method!
(This workshop was first published – Dec 2015)
Workshop Audio
Workshop Slides
Rule of Three – Copyblogger
Trello
Cal – iTunes
Cal – Play Store
#Top3Priorities Template
Thanks Jess! Great workshop!! All those priorities broken down into tiny little steps does boggle the mind a bit, but can’t wait to make this a regular practise for my business. 🙂
I think if you tried to do it at once (that is, take the year-level priorities and do all the breakdowns of all the sub-priorities) it would be way too overwhelming. The idea of my method is to just take one ‘branch’ of those sub-priorities and focus just on that. When those bits are done, you move onto the next branch! 🙂 I’d love to know how it works for you, Rachel.
I want to use the method to plan out 2016, especially for my business. I decided to have self care as one of my 3. For me it’ll be business, debt payoff, and health. I set these same categories up on Trello, which was easy.
Where can I get that template for prioritizing?
Right here 🙂 http://thrivercircle.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/13.jpg
Hi Jess, thanks for a very interesting & practical workshop. I especially liked the behind the scenes look at how to implement this approach. Speaking of implementing, I’m curious as to whether you can recommend a tactic or strategy that helps keep the top 3 priorities method moving forward when you inevitably hit stumbling blocks (personal, technical, creative or otherwise) as this seems to be when all my hours of focused planning suddenly goes out the window!
For me, constantly re-visiting the plans is the key. So, I sit down once a week (at a set time) and go look at my Monthly Trello board. I also have one day a month set aside as a ‘planning day’ where I revisit and reassess my long-term plans to keep them fresh in my mind, and to make sure that my day-to-day work is actually in line with those plans. Don’t get me wrong – it’s hard to do this, and it’s taken me many years of ‘trying’ before I have managed to do this regularly and effectively. Really – it’s scheduling that planning time in, and treating it as just as important as the other parts of your business. We often let it slip by because there are more ‘urgent’ things going on.
I thought this workshop was fantastic. I am all about the to do lists but I find they lead me to having issues with consistency. I’ll have all these items I want to get done and I end up hopping between them so none get done at 100% some get half done and the rest fall behind. With your method I can really see how I can break it down so I can tell my brain yes you want to work on social media but that’s scheduled for next month this month let’s first work on just say getting my etsy shop up to par by learning better photography and keywords so I can only worry about one thing and know I will get to the other because it’s scheduled. Such a great thing I can’t wait to start!
Enjoyed the workshop Jess, thanks! I love making list and organzing so this is great. Looking forward to using this to grow my Etsy store in 2016. Excited for the bootcamp 🙂 I gave Trello a go, confusing, did a test card (or whatever you call it) and can’t delete it. Anyways will have to find a more suitable time to explore.
Thank you Jess! Another wonderful workshop. just what me and my lil biz need and in perfect timing for the new year, i am looking forward to January’s business bootcamp to keep the organised momentum going! thanks 😀
That’s exactly it, Christine! 🙂 I hope it works for you!
Glad you enjoyed it, Alison! You can delete – or ‘close’ – boards from the menu on the right from within the board. Just click on ‘menu’ then click on ‘more’ and the option to close the board is there.
Yay for bootcamp! See you there 🙂
This is great. I got a little confused at the weekly and daily level. I understand the three priorities cascading down but to incorporate regular items too eg weekly blogpost I think in terms of a fourth box “Ongoing”to make sure I capture those items in my weekly or daily steps?
You could totally do that! I usually put recurring tasks into my Cal – I don’t even put them in my trello. For example, every week I send out an email to my C&T list – and the format is always the same (the two posts from the blog that week). Since this is a recurring task, I just have it in my Cal as a weekly task, and it pops up each Thursday to remind me to do that.
I found this super helpful and have been trying to get someone to help me do exactly this for the last 6 months.
I am trying to put this into practice but am becoming really overwhelmed. For example within 1 priority to increase sales. I have 17 items! The other 2 priorities have 10 items each.
How do you suggest you work this into a month, week, day without becoming over whelmed? My worry is I have more things to do then time.
Chanelle, this is where breaking things down. So – what level is the ‘increase sales’ priority at? If it’s a quarterly one, you break each of those 17 items down to address one per week in that quarter (ish). In short – don’t make a priority that is too big for the time you’ve allocated to it. For something as big as ‘increase sales’ (btw, quantifying that with a number or percentage increase is a better idea) I wouldn’t have it any lower than quarterly at the very shortest.
Perfect, thank you. That makes a lot of sense. I have now signed up to Trello and working on my cards. Yes I have quantified my sales to a number to work towards based on my yearly goal.
I just have to say that even though I’m a couple months behind, I adored this workshop! I love your method for breaking down priorities and I have already downloaded powerpoint on my cell phone and am in the process of planning my year. As I’m just starting up my jewelry business this year, there are so many things to be done and this method has totally clicked with me. I haven’t scratched anything off my list yet (because I’m still making it!) but I already feel my brain becoming more at ease by organizing all my to-do’s in this manner. Although I do tend to get things done, I don’t always get them done in the most timely manner. I can feel a bit scattered and overwhelmed sometimes, especially now as I’m taking on this big venture of starting my own biz. Thanks so much again for sharing such a clever way to organize my tasks and, ultimately, my life!
Appreciate it!
Tabitha Goings (@junkbox_design)
So awesome to hear that this method worked for you, Tabitha! Anything that reduces overwhelm is a good thing in my book.
I would love to start using these methods
So pls tell me Jess if I want to use it on Microsoft should I log in to the website ir download it on my laptop
I mean to use Trello
Exactly a year later I’m doing this again. Although I did achieve some of my goals. I stopped following my Trello to-do list and really wasn’t focused and found myseld doing without a purpose. Which did achoeve results but it meant I was constantly reacting rather then planning ahead. I’m combining the lessons learned here and with the time management workshop to get back on track for 2017! I’m going for old fashioned excel this time and printing off my sheets so I can physically cross them off weekly, daily and monthly.
Thanks Jess.
loved it! Great workshop!
omg I’m way behind….not through laziness or anything…. just having to learn everything as I go which is quite time consuming but at least I’m finding it out and implementing as I go thanks Jess for awesome workshops and advise which is a HUGE help….
So glad you’re the workshops so helpful, Toni!